CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1983 Western Michigan

6–⁠5 (4–⁠5 Mid-American Conference), coached by Jack Harbaugh.

Schedule and results

Western Michigan in 1983, game by game: won at Texas–Arlington 21–14; won at Illinois State 14–13; lost vs. Central Michigan 14–32; won at Miami (OH) 20–18; lost at Northern Illinois 3–27; lost vs. Bowling Green 20–23; lost vs. Ball State 20–24; won at Ohio 16–14; lost vs. Toledo 16–20; won at Kent State 21–13; won vs. Eastern Michigan 14–10+8−24Won 21–14 at Texas–Arlington+7Texas–ArlingtonWon 14–13 at Illinois State+1Illinois StateLost 14–32 vs. Central Michigan-18Central MichiganWon 20–18 at Miami (OH)+2Miami (OH)Lost 3–27 at Northern Illinois-24Northern Illino…Lost 20–23 vs. Bowling Green-3Bowling GreenLost 20–24 vs. Ball State-4Ball StateWon 16–14 at Ohio+2OhioLost 16–20 vs. Toledo-4ToledoWon 21–13 at Kent State+8Kent StateWon 14–10 vs. Eastern Michigan+4Eastern Michigan
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 10atTexas–ArlingtonW 21–⁠1473%
Sep 17atIllinois StateW 14–⁠1380%
Sep 24vsCentral MichiganL 14–⁠3266%
Oct 1atMiami (OH)W 20–⁠1848%
Oct 8atNorthern IllinoisL 3–⁠2743%
Oct 15vsBowling GreenL 20–⁠2355%
Oct 22vsBall StateL 20–⁠2466%
Oct 29atOhioW 16–⁠1450%
Nov 5vsToledoL 16–⁠2038%
Nov 12atKent StateW 21–⁠1369%
Nov 19vsEastern MichiganW 14–⁠1087%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Eastern Michigan 14–⁠10; unranked in the final AP poll; 6th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 36th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 83 on file).

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1983.

Record
6–⁠5
Conference
4–⁠5 6th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
179–⁠208
Coach
Jack Harbaugh
Elo
1473 −66 this season
SP+ rating
-6.3 No. 76 of 108; offense No. 96, defense No. 48
SRS
−13.7 No. 98 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Steve Szabo
Captains
Kurt Barterian and Demetrius Jones
Most valuable player
Shawn Faulkner

1983 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Northern Illinois8–⁠110–⁠2
Toledo7–⁠29–⁠2
Central Michigan7–⁠28–⁠3
Bowling Green7–⁠28–⁠3
Ball State4–⁠46–⁠5
Western Michigan4–⁠56–⁠5
Miami (OH)3–⁠54–⁠7
Ohio3–⁠64–⁠7
Kent State1–⁠81–⁠10
Eastern Michigan0–⁠91–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.